After 21 years of service on the Cheshire Community Action Board, our dedicated Chairman, Kathy Benn MBE has stood down from the Board to look after her health and to care for her husband at home. Kathy has steered the organisation through some interesting times including: three office moves, fluctuations in funding and staff, development of new services in health, planning and housing, and of course, a global pandemic! 

Kathy wasn’t just behind the scenes leading and supporting the Board, she also stood front and center each year as Chairman of the Best Kept Village Awards, which celebrated and generated so much volunteer effort and enthusiasm for stewarding and caring for the local environment in communities across Cheshire, Halton and Warrington. 

Staff and Board Members gathered for lunch in the CCA Office to pay tribute to Kathy with a gift and flowers in recognition of her service to the organisation, and to thank her for the years of dedicated support and commitment.  

As a result of Kathy’s announcement, the Board has appointed a new Chairman, Revd David Felix, who has also been serving on the Board for many years and will now lead the organisation’s governing body. David brings a wide and diverse range of views from his previous roles in the Church of England, legal profession, housing association boards and rural economic development. 

Dr Chris Fortune who joined the Board in 2020 has been appointed as Vice Chairman and also Chairs the Scrutiny Committee – the Board’s delegated sub-committee that monitors its finances, strategy and project work. Chris brings valuable skills and experience to the Board from serving as a trustee for other community enterprise and housing associations, and from his background in construction and development. 

We would also like to welcome Francis Tunney, our newest Board Member who was co-opted on to the Board in January following a recruitment process, and brings a broad range of experience and skills from his career in marketing and business development, as well as his involvement with Utkinton and Cotebrook Parish Council and Village Hall. 

To find out more about our Board Members, please visit: https://cheshireaction.org.uk/board-members/